


Seasons

by softgrungeprophet



Series: Peachy [2]
Category: Venom (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death Fix, Conversations, Dating, Developing Relationship, Fix-It, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, M/M, Mornings, Multi, Other, Picnics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 01:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17653415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softgrungeprophet/pseuds/softgrungeprophet
Summary: Three seasons from a year of getting to know each other.





	1. (Winter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after they didn't have sex.  
> (Flash POV)

Flash woke up first, the sun peeking through a crack in the hotel curtains and directly into his eyes. He squinted, raising his hand to block the light before grumbling and turning around onto his other side, under the weight of Eddie's arm. Eddie shifted slightly in his sleep, hugging Flash a little closer—Flash let himself be pulled into his chest, encouraged by a few black tendrils sliding over his shoulders.

"Hey, bud." Flash kept his voice low, so as not to wake Eddie, and smiled at the small face that had manifested nestled under Eddie's chin.

The symbiote purred, eyespots narrowed into happy slits.

Flash nestled closer.

How many times had he apologized last night?

No small number, for every hesitation and hang-up he discovered as they touched. But rather than judgment or condescension or patronization, he found himself met with only patience and understanding. He always thought Eddie was kind of a jerk, even when they cooperated, but now he felt kind of bad about jumping to conclusions.

Eddie's breathing changed slightly, and he tightened his arms around Flash before letting out a small noise.

"Morning." Flash pulled back, smiling.

Eddie blinked at him blearily. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he seemed to be listening to the symbiote. But he said, "Good morning" in a deep, sleepy rumble.

The symbiote briefly covered him with a dozen tendrils, then sank away—smoothed and flattened into a plain black t-shirt and what felt like pajama pants when they ghosted into existence to separate Eddie's skin from Flash's.

Flash chewed at a spot on his lip.

He sighed.

Again—"Sorry."

"Mm..." Eddie frowned and pushed himself up.  "Don't be." He spared Flash a glance, as he stretched his arms over his head. "I'm 35, Flash, I think I'll be alright." He let his arms down and smirked, raising his eyebrows. "Unless you take me for some kind of desperate sex-starved beast?"

Flash wrinkled his nose. "No, no—" He sat up as well. "I just don't want you to think I led you on, or whatever."

Eddie snorted. "If that was a lead-on, I'll take it."

With a small nod, Flash looked away.

"Hey. It's fine, I promise." Eddie reached out to lift Flash's chin with—yet again—a surprisingly gentle touch. "Can I kiss you?"

Flash grinned. " _Now_ you ask?"

Eddie shrugged.

"Okay." Flash pulled him in close.

It was a nice kiss. Simple and warm and soft.

When Eddie pulled away, he murmured, "That's enough to satisfy me for the next year."

Flash scrunched his face up, warmth tickling up his neck and across his face. "Liar."

"I'm serious." Eddie pushed the blankets away, finally, and slipped out of the bed. He leaned his hands against the mattress to say, "Not everyone's a raging sex-fiend like you, Mr. Thompson."

"Hey! I'm not a sex-fiend!" Flash pouted. Then smiled. "And don't call me 'mister.' It's _Flash_."

"Alright, Flash." Eddie turned away and began to stretch in earnest, pulling his arm across his chest. The black fabric of his shirt clung tightly, but never seemed to ride or bunch up as he moved through his warmup—the benefits of your clothing being a living creature with sapience and shape-shifting abilities...

Flash leaned back on his hands to admire the view.

After a minute or so of that—"Hey, can I get your number?"

Eddie straightened up with a soft grunt, eyes sparkling with some kind of deep amusement. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, and said, "We don't have a phone."

"...Oh." Flash frowned. "Uh."

"I'll give you my work number." Eddie pushed off from the wall, toward the bedside table. He grabbed the notepad there and scribbled his name and number quickly but neatly, to hand off to Flash. He smirked. "Be sure to ask for a Mr. Sym."

Flash fell back into the pillows with a laugh. "Mr. _Sym_? Really?"

"What can I say? I'm not great with names."

"Obviously."

They fell into silence, not entirely comfortable but not _entirely_ awkward, either—though Eddie seemed more at ease with wordlessness. Flash, on the other hand, had to resist the urge to babble on to fill the quiet... Less so in that moment compared to usual but still present.

Okay, maybe it was a little more awkward than he would be willing to admit.

He wondered if it would be easier to figure out what to say if they'd actually done anything during the night, or if he'd be just as much at a loss in that scenario.

Didn't matter—

"Alright, we're going to head out." Eddie shifted slightly and the symbiote emerged to wrap his arms up in the confines of a leather jacket. He paused halfway to the door. It formed a small mound on his shoulder to peek at Flash with small white eyes. "Unless you want us to stay."

Flash shrugged. "I mean... I'm sure you've got things to do. I should probably... also do things." He didn't _want_ Eddie and the symbiote to go but he wasn't gonna keep them there, either. And it was true, he needed to figure out where he would stay, after the hotel, and whether he could get a temporary job in New York, or something.

Eddie nodded. "Right." He began to move to the door again, slowly, as if hoping Flash might stop him.

"I—" Flash caught himself. "I'll call you?"

"At work."

Flash nodded. "At work."

"Goodbye, Flash." Eddie shut the door behind him quietly.

Flash settled into the pillows with a sigh. "...bye."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> insert bloodborne joke here (blood-starved beast) (why doesn't hovertext work anymore rip)
> 
> Set immediately after [I think I'm starting to like you.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17548313)


	2. (Spring)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A picnic date in the park.  
> (Eddie POV)

If anyone had asked him, Eddie would have told them he never expected Flash to call him even once.

And yet, several months later, they were on what could only be described as a date.

Not even their first one—their fifth, by his count, if one were to count coffee meetups. A picnic, shaded by a tree, with a blanket spread out beneath them and a bag weighing down one of the corners, with various Tupperware containers inside. The symbiote poked around curiously, as Flash removed a few containers from the bag. Luckily, no one seemed to pay them much mind.

"You made all of this?" Eddie picked up one of the containers. Potato salad, it seemed like.

Flash beamed at him. "Yup!" He popped open the lid on a tub of the same potato salad—individual servings? "I used to hate cooking but I really like it now." He held out his hand, and the symbiote deposited a plastic fork onto his palm with a soft chirp. "It's kinda relaxing."

Eddie nodded. quietly. He opened his own potato salad, accepting a fork from his other with a small swell of thanks pushed through their bond.

It was good.

[ **Flash is very talented.** ]

Much better than he expected—which might have been rude of him, but Flash seemed so easily-distractible it was hard to imagine him cooking anything. Let alone potato salad—but then again, Eddie couldn't even remember the last time he'd had potato salad. Maybe at a Weying family function...? Maybe at the shelter? Certainly not since then...

"Wow."

Flash tilted his head.

"I just realized I haven't had homemade food in years."

Flash frowned slightly.

[ **You'll make him worry, Eddie...** ]

Eddie amended himself—"Not like this, at least."

"Well," Flash leaned forward a little bit, smiling. "Next time we meet up you should actually come _home_ with me, instead of _bailing_ at the last minute, and I can make us dinner." He set his food aside. "Or I could take you to visit Andi, and make dinner for _everyone_."

With a soft laugh, Eddie muttered, "You're a full-fledged mother hen, aren't you?"

[ **Don't tease.** ]

Eddie lowered his voice further to address the symbiote. "I'm not teasing."

Flash crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows. "At least I know how to cook."

"Hey, hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing." Eddie shoved a forkful into his mouth, so he wouldn't have to defend himself further.

He got a laugh out of Flash, though, light and pleasant.

It made Eddie's heart pick up.

Eddie took a drink from one of the bottles among all the food—just a bottle of Snapple, sweet and watery. He let the symbiote sip directly from the bottle as well. It hummed in approval, and when he looked back up, Flash was watching them both with a gentle smile.

The blanket rustled slightly against the grass as Eddie moved closer. He put his hand over Flash's. Looked at him for a long, drawn-out moment.

The sunlight brightened his hazel-green eyes and picked out bits of red in his messy, short hair.

He tilted his head curiously, as Eddie stared at him.

Addressing his other, Eddie said, "I think he likes us. What do you think?"

[ **I think you're right.** ]

"We like him too, don't we?"

Flash narrowed his eyes, though a faint blush colored his cheeks. "I'm _right here_."

[ **Kiss him, Eddie.** ]

Eddie kissed him.

A smooth thrum of satisfaction filled his bones, and he couldn't tell if that was on him or the symbiote.

Flash's hand (the one not twined with Eddie's on the blanket) came up to cup his jaw, warm and slightly calloused, but gentle.

Eddie broke away after a few seconds and muttered, "You taste like potato salad."

[ ** _Eddie._** ]

Flash laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they still have not banged, boned, or [insert another euphemism that starts with a B here] but they sure are dating.
> 
> which park??  
> the park.  
> whichever one you want. i'm not a new yorker, i'm not gonna try to pick one.  
> it's like.... May in this part.


	3. (Fall)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night Flash doesn't die.  
> (Flash POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooh steamy  
> makes vaaague reference to ASM800, but like, a version that doesn't suck.

Eddie kissed the cluster of lines branching over Flash's heart. Wavering red [lightning bolts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichtenberg_figure), the only remnant of his tussle with the Red Goblin. Even the Anti-Venom, gone—used up in healing the deepest damage, in his organs and tissues and nerve-endings. Now he was all empty, but Eddie and the symbiote were there with him.

"I'm fine, Eddie."

Eddie shook his head, as he kissed his way up Flash's chest and neck—caught his lips, briefly, before bumping their foreheads together. "You almost died."

He couldn’t exactly deny it.

He'd felt his own heart stop.

Felt the drop in his gut, felt all the muscles in his body seize up before he collapsed.

"But I'm here, now. I'm okay."

Eddie just kissed him again, chaste at first but deepening into something more desirous—helped along by Flash's insistence on introducing tongue into the mix. He didn't seem to mind much, though; pushing Flash into the sheets, running his hands down his sides, pausing only occasionally to breathe and stare.

They tangled together in Flash's bed, moving slowly.

The symbiote joined them, sleek and cool, twining between clasped hands and the places their skin pressed together.

Eddie was heavy and warm and gentle.

Later, with the symbiote pooled around their bodies, all molten relaxation, Flash murmured, "I think I'm gonna move back to Philadelphia."

"Hm." Eddie put his palm to Flash's cheek, expression subdued and barely visible in the dark. "I'm that bad, huh?"

Flash shoved at Eddie's shoulder, though he grinned. "No, asshole." He moved in closer, under the weight of Eddie's arm. The symbiote shifted slightly around them both, wrapping them up in loose petals of itself. "Not everything's about you."

"Disagree." Eddie tucked Flash's head under his chin.

With a soft laugh, Flash said, "No, just listen." He paused to gather his thoughts, and sighed. "I just... When I was on that roof, all I could think about was Andi." He frowned to himself. "Even with Pe—with Spider-Man right there, all I could think about was how... I don't want her to be alone."

Eddie hummed, then. Pulled Flash in tight, so Flash could feel his voice when spoke. "You want to know something?"

"What?"

"When we fought together, at that school..." Eddie rubbed Flash's back, hand drifting over the loosely coiled symbiotic tendrils that held him. "She's the only reason I ever gave you a chance." He laughed and it was low and rumbly. "I saw you talking to her—this young, scared girl—and for a moment I saw what everyone else seemed to see in you." He paused. "Just for a moment, I saw the kind of man you are."

Something in Flash's stomach fluttered at that. "And what kind is that?"

"A hero."

Eddie moved so he could kiss Flash's forehead, and even though Flash should have been used to it by now, he found himself surprised at just how soft this man could be. Physically, emotionally.

"That's the sappiest thing I've ever heard in my life."

The symbiote squeezed Flash, gently. A reprimand?

"...Thanks."

Eddie smirked. "Don't let it go to your head."

Flash rolled his eyes, but angled in for a kiss.

Arms formed around him, smooth and black, as Eddie's hands came up to frame his face.

"You better come over."

Eddie snorted.

"I mean it!" Flash pushed at him, until he rolled onto his back, taking Flash with him. "Every day."

With a thoughtful expression, Eddie muttered, "Maybe not every day."

"Fine. Every week."

"Hmmm..." The symbiote smoothed itself across his face with a fanged grin. " ** _I think we can do that._** "

Flash smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand now they have done the deed. lol tfw you almost die and it's like, man you know what, I'm much less nervous about this suddenly. plus they've been dating for liiiiiike.... 6-8 months probably... so it probably would have happened soonish anyway. they've probably had a couple of makeout/heavy petting/grinding sessions tho lmfao
> 
>  
> 
> idk how exactly the events of this go down as far as fighting the red goblin... doesn't matter.
> 
> I actually had a kinda different chapter for this but then I didn't like it so I started from scratch after-the-fact instead of trying to actually re-make Flash's death scene into a not-death scene.
> 
> Also, man, when I wrote the line about Flash not wanting Andi to be alone I was honestly tearing up. Making myself cry.... those two....... man i hope andi's okay


End file.
